Miniature piano



March 22, 1938. s. R. BRIDGES 2,112,066

MINIATURE PIANO Filed May 12, 1936 I r. (I

104-1. 7 war! MM 9 V/l 6 5 ATTORNEYS Patented Mar. 22, 1938 UNITED fi'lA'l'ES PATENT FFWE field, England,

assignor to Hardman, Peck &

Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application May 12,

1936, Serial No. 79,261

In Great Britain May 17, 1935 7 Claims.

The present invention concerns improvements in or relating to miniature pianos of the type (hereinafter referred to as the type specified) which has the action (i. e. the mechanism for actuating the hammers) below the level of the keyboard and in front of the iron frame.

Miniature pianos as usually made have had their action behind the iron frame, in which case the action can be of usual kind, the keys of usual 1 length and arrangement, and the connection between the keys and the action direct.

In order to permit of ease of tuning it has been proposed to transfer the action to the front of the iron frame. Naturally it is desirable if possible to use keys and action of standard type, but if this is to be done there are certain difiiculties owing to the small amount of space available. For example, if the depth of the piano from front to rear is not to be increased unduly, the

30 iron frame should be approximately in normal position; but the front of the action cannot be carried forward to any great extent since proper space must be provided for the knees of the user. This disadvantage can be got over by shortening 2.; the keys considerably (it is to be observed that normally the rear of each key would be connected to that part of the action remote from the frame), but such shortening affects the touch of an instrument having its key and action lever or wippen directly connected as is usual. This latter objection can be largely obviated see U. S.

Patent No. 1,999,914) by connecting the key to its action indirectly through a multiplying leverage and a rod passing through the keys. but such a solution of the difficulty, while satisfactory, is

not as simple as desirable and is somewhat costly to manufacture. Alternatively, each key can be pivoted at its rear end (instead of between its ends) and the action actuated, it be through a second lever mounted below the key, by a rod connected to the key between its ends; this again aifects the touch.

The chief object of the present invention is to v provide a miniature piano of the type specified in which a standard type of action be retained but in which the touch is similar to that of a piano having its action at the rear of the frame. It is to be observed that the best touch is found in a piano in which the necessary multiplication of leverage between the front end of the key and the wippen is obtained by leverage of the itself. It is believed to be important that any leverage introduced between the key and the wippen should have as little multiplying effect as 55 possible, that is, the multiplication should be as far as possible produced by the leverage of the key itself.

By the present invention this object is attained by the use of a novel connection between the rear end of the key and the wlppen of the action, which connection involves the necessity for very little extra space in a direction from, front to rear.

According to one embodiment of the present invention in or for a miniature piano of the type specified, an action comprises the combination with key pivoted between its ends and a wippen or action lever of a second lever mounted. adjacent the key and operatively connected both to the key and the wippen through a third lever I positioned adjacent the rear end of the key.

The second lever preferably acts directly on the wippen.

It is to be observed that withthe connection according to the present invention the use of an underdamper can be retained, and it is well known that an underdamper instrument is, other things being comparable, better than an overdamper instrument.

One form of action for a miniature piano, ac-

cording to the present invention, which is at the time the preferred embodiment thereof, will now be described by way of example with reference to the single figure of the accompanying drawing,

in which a single action is shown in side elevain tion.

In this illustrative construction the action together with an underdamper mechanism may be and will be assumed to be of usual type, certain parts not necessary to a full explanation oi the invention being omitted. The rear end i of a key 2 pivoted between its ends at 3 is arranged to actuate the action lever or wippen i- "1 lows: Projecting downwardly from the the key frame is a bracket 5. lever) 5 is pivoted at 1 between its ends to this bracket so that the rocker lies above the action generally indicated at 8. The rear end of the rocker 6 is connected by a pivoted link 9 to the rear end I of the key 2. From the front of the rocker 6 depends a rod iii which passes downwardly closely in front of the action 8, its lower end being connected to the front end of a second lever (or lower rocker) ll located under the action and pivoted at 12 between its ends to a fixed bracket 53. The effective length of the rod ii? is adjustable by nuts threaded on its ends. The rear end of the lower rocker or second level" ii underlies and contacts with an adjustable abut ment l4 carried by the underside of the wippen A rocker (or third 4 approximately under the lower end of the jack I5 that actuates the hammer IS. The key 2 is so long that its rear end I is as close to the frame as possible while allowing access to the tuning pins in a normal manner; the leverages between the key and the wippen can be readily arranged so that the depth of touch and travel of the wippen are for practical purposes those obtained in upright pianos. While because of the limited space avalable in a piano of the type specified the lift of the rear of the key is somewhat less than would be obtained in an ordinary full size upright piano, this is compensated for by the fact that the lever ll extends forward under the wippen and lifts it closer to its pivot, about under the jack I5, giving it the same travel as would be obtained with a key having a greater lift applied in the usual manner to the outer end of the wippen.

The operation is as follows: On depression of the front end of a key 2 its rear end I is raised and raises the rear end of the top rocker 6 so that the front end of the latter is depressed. This depresses the front end of the lower rocker ll, through the medium of the rod I0, and raises its rear end to raise the wippen 4 in usual manner. This produces movement of the hammer l6 as usual, and at the same time the wippen 4 actuates the damper IT in known manner. The iron frame of the piano is generally indicated at l8.

Various modifications may be made in the, construction shown in the drawing and above particularly described, within the purview of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a piano having the action below the level of the keyboard and in front of the string frame, in combination, a key pivoted approximately at its mid-point, an action lever or wippen, a second lever pivoted between its ends beneath the wippen, and means for operatively connecting said second lever both to the key and to the wippen to lift the wippen when the key is depressed.

2. In a piano having the action below the level of the keyboard and in front of the string frame, in combination, a key pivoted approximately at its mid-point, an action lever or wippen, a second lever pivoted between its ends and mounted beneath and adapted to actuate the wippen, and means for operatively connecting said second lever to the key to lift the wippen when the key is depressed.

3. In a piano having the action below the level of the keyboard and in front of the string frame, in combination, a key pivoted approximately at its mid-point, an action lever or wippen, a second lever pivoted between its ends adjacent to the wippen, a third lever pivoted between its ends below the key, means connecting the rear end of the key to the third lever, said second lever being operatively connected both to the wippen and the second lever.

4. In a piano having the action below the level of the keyboard and in front of the string frame, in combination, a key pivoted approximately at its mid-point, an action lever or wippen, a second lever pivoted between its ends and adapted to actuate the wippen, a third lever pivoted between its ends below the key, a link connecting the rear of the key to the rear of the third lever, and a rigid member connecting the front of the third lever to the front of the second lever.

5. In a piano having the action below the level of the keyboard and in front of the string frame, in combination, a key pivoted approximately at its mid-point, a lever mounted below the key and linked to its rear end so as to exert a downward thrust when the key is depressed, an action having a wippen, a lever mounted adjacent to the wippen and adapted to receive said downward thrust and transmit it to the wippen to actuate the action, and means for transmitting the said thrust from one of said levers to the other.

6. In combination, a piano key pivoted approximately at its mid-point, a piano action including a wippen and a jack carried thereby and located under the rear of said key and in front of the string frame, a pair of auxiliary levers one above and one below said action and pivoted approximately at their mid-points, a compres- :7

sion member passing closely in front of the action and connecting the forward ends of said levers, means connecting the rear of the key with the rear of the upper of said levers, the rear of the lower of said levers being adapted to lift said wippen at a point approximately beneath the jack.

'7. In a piano having the wippen of the action below the level of the keyboard and in front of the string frame, in combination, a key pivoted approximately at its mid-point, a wippen, a second lever pivoted between its ends and having one end extending beneath the wippen, a third lever pivoted between its ends adjacent the rear end of the key and adapted to have one end raised by the rear of the key when the front of the key is depressed, and a compression member connecting the other end of said third lever to the end of the second lever furthest from the wippen.

STANLEY RICHARD BRIDGES. 

